The festive season has evolved into a celebration of consumerism. Our household is trying to fight against the commercialisation of Christmas and downplay the tradition of gift-giving - but without being scrooges. One solution is to be more generous with our presence, rather than our presents. We've embraced traditions that help us connect instead of consume. My favourite festive season tradition is our creative countdown to Christmas... Read more →

We recently raised a batch of chickens from eggs. Our sweet little chickens taught Little Eco real-life lessons in patience, responsibility and reality. In comparison with the mobile phone cyber pet apps she loves - nothing beats the real thing. Read more →

The call to compromise on my environmental ideals comes more often now that Little Eco is older. She asks for packaged food in her lunch box and begs for the latest fad plastic toy. Marketers are trying to teach her that life is about buying, whereas I am trying to teach her that happiness can’t be bought: How she contributes and what she creates is more important than what she consumes. Here are some of the strategies I use to help her navigate the pervasive power of marketing. Read more →

School starts back in only a few weeks so I thought I'd share my recipe for packing fast and healthy waste-free lunch boxes. 1. Follow a template 2. Embrace simple whole foods 3. Add variety by favoring seasonal foods 4. Prepare ahead 5. Have a basic set of quality waste-free containers and wraps. Do you have any tips for making packing waste-free lunches easy? Read more →

I realised the other day that many of the sustainable living choices I’ve made -that may seem weird to some - seem totally normal to Little Eco. I was in a rush recently and instead of washing my face with honey I squirted some castile soap onto a wet washer. Castile soap is a gentle vegetable oil based liquid soap. I use it as a hand wash, but its gentle enough that you can wash your face with it. Little eco looked at me like I was going crazy and asked “What are you doing!? You’re not supposed to wash... Read more →